Chapter Fifty-two, Tiger Guard Blood Battle

  "Kill, charge!" Knowing that reinforcements had arrived, the originally disheartened government army suddenly regained their morale and all became bold and daring, counter-attacking with renewed vigor. Sun Jian wielded his treasured ancient sword, riding his Flower Steed horse, charging down from the mountain top, his Flying Dragon Flame Helmet shining in the sunlight, radiating a dazzling brilliance, as if a heavenly general had descended to earth.

  Behind him, four great generals followed closely, forming a protective formation around Sun Jian. The four were: First, Cheng Pu from Beihuang, Hebei province, wielding an iron spear; Second, Huang Gai from Lingling, Hunan province, wielding an iron whip; Third, Han Dang from Lixian, Shanxi province, wielding a large sword; Fourth, Zu Mao from Fuchun, Zhejiang province, wielding dual swords.

  These four great generals, surrounding Sun Jian, can be called the Five Tigers of Jiangdong. Each one is extraordinary and brave, with many soldiers following closely behind them, shouting and killing as they rush down the mountain in an instant, forming a standoff and surrounding Dian Wei and others.

  "Want to give the thieves a way to retreat, haha, Jiangdong young men, let them see your prowess." Sun Jian shouted loudly, and the people behind him responded in unison, "Kill, we must bravely kill the thieves, General, rest assured." With a loud shout, like a tidal wave, 20,000 government soldiers drew their swords, unsheathed their knives, and charged forward with long spears.

  "Haha, you young men from Jiangdong, stop boasting! Today I'll show you the ferocity of my Tiger Guard. Brothers, follow me and let's kill!" With a loud roar, Dian Wei swung his twin iron spears like a fierce and savage beast, leading the charge forward. The eighty-jin heavy twin iron spears shone with a cold light, exuding an aura that chilled to the bone. Without Xu Feng by his side, Dian Wei felt unencumbered and was able to fully unleash his strength, freely swinging his spears in all directions.

  "Ahh..." A miserable cry, a government soldier was smashed to the ground by Dian Wei's hammer, his body crushed and bloody beyond recognition. This blow truly marked the beginning of the battle between the two sides. The 500 Tiger Guards, fearless and expressionless, closely followed behind Dian Wei, facing tens of thousands of enemy soldiers without flinching. To protect their brothers' safe retreat, as a matter of honor and responsibility for being part of the Tiger Guards, they felt proud and duty-bound. Those who retreated would not need to be punished by others; everyone would consider it a shame.

  "Kill!" Pei Yuanshao wielded his sixty-jin wolf-tooth club, like a fierce lion, charging forward with abandon. Facing several times the number of government soldiers, he suddenly felt a surge of heroic spirit and let out loud "Haha"s.

  "Hu Wei is invincible, there's no survival without death. If you want to get past me, you'll have to trample over my corpse." With a swift swing of his waist, he knocked down five or six soldiers, and as they wailed and screamed on the ground, Pei Yuanshao let out a wild whoop, his heroic spirit soaring, and with heavy footsteps, he wielded his wolf-tooth club again, charging forward once more.

  "What about Zhang Fei?" Xu Feng and the others had just retreated, when Xu Feng suddenly discovered that Zhang Fei, who had been following closely by his side, was nowhere to be seen. He was taken aback - could it be that he had gone back?

  "Old Black, I'm here to help you." Dian Wei was charging through the crowd, with a large empty space around him, piled high with corpses of government soldiers, scattered all over the place. The two heavy iron spears were covered in fresh blood, and as they danced through the air, blood rained down everywhere, limbs flying wildly. Dian Wei was like a bulldozer, charging forward with ferocity, and despite being outnumbered, no one could stop his frenzied slaughter. Even if there were more people, he would instantly tear open a gap. His large eyes, like bronze bells, were already filled with bloodlust, radiating an aura of murder, like a demonic god from the underworld, killing recklessly, unstoppable and unblockable.

  Upon hearing Zhang Fei's battle cry, Dian Wei's mouth corners slightly curled up into a smile. The two iron pikes clashed together with a loud crash, the deafening sound causing the surrounding soldiers to retreat and freeze in shock.

  "Haha, wonderful! Zhang Fei, dare you compete with me to see who can kill more people?" Tian Wei rushed at Zhang Fei, laughing wildly.

  "I, Zhang Fei, had this intention all along. Come on!" With a loud roar from Zhang Fei, the snake spear in his hand made a swift thrust, and a cold light flashed by. The opposing general let out a mournful cry, fell off his horse, and on the back of his neck, as Zhang Fei withdrew his spear, there was already an additional clear and visible hole, with scalding hot blood gushing out, just like a fountain.

  "Haha, hurry up and stand firm, wait for your master Zhang to take your dog life." Seeing the surrounding soldiers scattered and disorganized, Zhang Fei urged his horse forward anxiously, muttering discontentedly.

  "A reckless daredevil, courting death." A cold light flashed in the air, a high-ranking general rushed forth and instantly blocked Zhang Fei's path.

  "Haha, interesting! The weapon is exactly the same as mine, Zhang Fei's. I wonder if he knows how to use it though."

  As soon as the words fell, Zhang Fei's spear stabbed out in a swift motion, rushing towards Cheng Pu's throat. Cheng Pu slightly dodged to the side, easily avoiding Zhang Fei's spear. With a swift swing of his iron pike, he swept it horizontally towards Zhang Fei's waist. Zhang Fei was slightly startled and thought to himself, "This old fellow is quite interesting."

  With a "pa" sound, Zhang Fei made a swift move, his left hand reaching out to grab the opponent's gun handle, shouting "Let go!"

  Zhang Fei's great strength was not ordinary, far surpassing that of Cheng Pu. With a single pull, Cheng Pu suddenly lost his balance and nearly fell off his horse. Zhang Fei's right hand wielded the snake halberd from top to bottom, striking down towards Cheng Pu's head. Cheng Pu secretly took a fright and hastily let go, thus the weapon in his hand ended up in Zhang Fei's hands instead.

  "Haha, interesting!" Before the laughter had even faded, Zhang Fei was caught off guard as his opponent grabbed hold of his snake halberd with both hands and gave a sudden heave. Zhang Fei's single hand was no match for his opponent's two, and in a moment of carelessness, the halberd slipped from his grasp. However, Zhang Fei didn't show any signs of panic. With a flick of his wrist, the iron-spined snake halberd gun flower flashed out, casting a shadowy image of guns in the air. Letting out a loud cry, a white light flashed, and with a burst of anger, an electric-like strike shot out, piercing through the air. Cheng Pu was shocked and tried to duck down to avoid it, but his right shoulder was still struck by Zhang Fei's sneak attack, the spearhead piercing through his scapula.

  "Old fellow, you still have some skills, but your master Zhang is busy right now and has no time to bother with you." Snatching the snake spear, he struck it down across his waist, and Cheng Pu dodged too late, being knocked off his horse by Zhang Fei. With a cold laugh, Zhang Fei urged his horse forward, chasing after Cheng Pu, and casually tossed the iron-backed snake spear back at him, before charging towards the government army once again.

  Zhang Fei had no impression of Cheng Pu, no grudges or grievances. Seeing that the other was not young, he didn't use his killing move. Moreover, since they shared a common fate and their weapons were similar, Zhang Fei couldn't help but show some private sentiment.

  "Who the hell are you?" With his hand covering the knife wound on his chest, Pei Yuanshao glared at the war general in front of him and shouted angrily.

  "Let you die with a clear understanding, I am Sun Jian of Jiangdong, Sun Wentai. Accept your death." The ancient sword flashed cold light and slashed down, Pei Yuanshao sighed softly, his eyes flashing with a hint of unwillingness.

  "With a loud crash, a forty-pound iron spear flew in from the air and heavily smashed onto Sun Jian's ancient halberd, immediately sending it flying out. Sun Jian's arm went numb, his tiger mouth throbbed with pain, he turned around, and was suddenly shocked to see a burly man covered in blood, holding an iron spear, with a face full of anger charging towards him. Those tiger eyes, filled with killing intent, locked tightly onto him, and for an instant, Sun Jian had the illusion that he had become someone else's prey."